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2023 – TEXAS TWO STOMP: The Twins beat the Rangers at Target Field by a score of 12-2, their largest margin of victory since a 12-1 win over the Diamondbacks on August 5. It was the largest margin of victory for the Twins over the Rangers since a 15-5 victory at Texas on July 10, 2016. Also marked their ninth time this season scoring 10-plus runs. Sonny Gray (7-6) was the starter and winner, allowing one run (Mitch Garver homer) on six hits in 7 innings pitched, with no walks and four strikeouts. The offense recorded 12 hits as Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien drove in three runs apiece. Minnesota also got home runs from Max Kepler (21), Carlos Correa (16) and Julien (11). Eight walks drawn by the Twins in the game. The Twins have hit 65 home runs since the All-Star break, the most in the AL and second most in baseball, trailing Atlanta (72). On the season, they have homered 180 times, third most in the AL and fifth most in baseball. Box Score
2022 – The Twins losing streak reached six games when they lost to the Astros at Minute Maid Park by a score of 6-3, suffering the three-game sweep, their fifth sweep of the season. Chris Archer (2-7) was the starter and loser, allowing five runs on eight hits in 4 innings pitched, with one walk and two strikeouts. The offense recorded seven hits, two coming from Gio Urshela. Jorge Polanco hit his 16th home run, a solo shot in the first inning, it was the 399th RBI and 98th home run of his career. The Twins won four-straight games from August 15-19, but have lost a season-long six straight since August 20. During their current six-game losing streak, they are hitting .176 (34-for-193) with 54 strikeouts, one home run, a .171 (6-for-35) RISP average and 12 runs scored (2.0 runs-per-game). The Twins headed home after the game to lick their wounds and get ready to take on the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox. Box Score
2021 – The Twins beat the Red Sox at Fenway Park by a score of 9-6 in 10 innings, snapping their four-game losing streak. The win made them 11-10 in extra-innings this season and the 21 extra-inning games are tied for the third-most in club history. Bailey Ober was the starter but did not factor into the decision, pitching five shutout innings with four hits, one walk and a career-high-tying seven strikeouts. The Twins had a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth but Alex Colome blew his sixth save of the season and the Red Sox tied the game and sent it to extra innings. With former Twins closer Hansel Robles on the mound for the Red Sox in the tenth inning and the automatic runner on second Josh Donaldson (19) greeted him with a two-run home run and Jake Cave (3) piled on 3 more runs with a home run later in the tenth giving the Twins a 9-4 lead. The Red Sox however; wouldn’t go down without a fight scoring twice in the bottom of the tenth before Ralph Garza was finally able to retire the side and give the Twins their first “W” of the roadtrip. Ironically, Colome (4-4) got the win. In addition to the Donaldson and Cave home runs, Jorge Polanco hit his 24th and Miguel Sano hit number 22 and it was a blast for the ages. Baseballs will sometimes clear the Green Monster and fall to earth on Lansdowne Street, but it’s a safe bet that very, very few in the storied history of Fenway Park left the yard where Miguel Sanó’s third-inning blast did — just to left of straightaway center field, over the most distant part of the 37-foot wall. The homer measured 495 feet with an exit velocity of 116.7, according to Statcast, the longest in the Majors this season.
2020 – The Twins sent 40 year-old Rich Hill to the Progressive Field mound on a hot humid evening to take on one of baseballs best in Shane Bieber. The grunting, complaining, and cussing southpaw Hill more than held his own for five innings and 78 pitches before Rocco Baldelli pulled him with a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Twins reliever Jorge Alcala gave up three runs on three hits (including a Francisco Lindor two run-homer) in the top of the sixth and the Indians held on for a 4-2 victory ending the Twins three game winning streak. Alcala (1-1) suffered his first big league loss. The Twins had just six hits and only one extra base hit, a double by Luis Arraez ending Sano’s eight game extra-base hit streak. The Twins continue to lead all of baseball with just eight errors. Box Score
2019 – The Twins beat the Tigers by a 7-4 score, winning their 23rd series of the season (23-13-6) and salvaging a 3-3 split in their six game homestand. Twins fans expected more from six games against two bad teams in the Tigers and White Sox but the Twins still picked up a game on the second place Indians. Starter Martín Pérez (9-5) was the winner (first win since July 5) allowing two runs on five hits in 6 innings pitched. The offense only recorded five hits but drew six walks. C.J. Cron (21) and Jonathan Schoop (18) each had two hits including a home run. Jake Cave entered the game in the seventh as a defensive replacement and in the eighth made a great leaping catch in the left field corner robbing Robby Rodriguez of an extra-base hit that might have narrowed the score. Eddie Rosario missed his third straight game nursing a minor hamstring injury but hopes to return against the WSox in Chicago. Twins are now 79-51 and have a 3.5 game lead on Cleveland. Box Score
2018 – The Twins lose to the A’s at home by a score of 6-2. Rookie Stephen Gonsalves was the starter and loser, allowing four runs on seven hits in 5 innings (90 pitches). The offense had only eights hits, two from both Joe Mauer and Tyler Austin, who hit his 12th home run of the season, his fourth as a Twin. Box Score
2017 – The Twins beat the Blue Jays by a score of 6-1, snapping their seven-game losing streak in Toronto. Bartolo Colón (6-10) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on nine hits in 6.2 innings pitched. The offense recorded 13 hits, including three-a-piece from Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco. Box Score
2014 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2008 – The Twins travel to Safeco Field and the 48-82 Seattle Mariners beat the 74-57 Twins 4 to 2. Francisco Liriano goes 6 for the Twins and leaves after 95 pitches and one run allowed with the game knotted at 1-1. The Twins bullpen is not up to the task as Joe Nathan blows a 2-1 lead and then in the 11th inning Jesse Crain allows a 2-run walk-off home run to Adrian Beltre for the Mariners win. Box Score
The Twins make a deal with the Texas Rangers and reacquired relief pitcher Eddie Guardado and sent pitcher Mark Hamburger to Texas.
2003 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1998 – The Twins beat up the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field by a score of 4-1 powered by home runs from Pat Mears and back-to-back home runs by David Ortiz and Marty Cordova. Twins starter Frankie Rodriguez pitched 7.2 scoreless innings striking out 8 and giving up just 5 hits for the win. Rick Aguilera saved his 32nd game. Box Score
The Twins like many teams before them, send pitcher Mike Morgan packing, this time to the Cubs for a PTBNL who turns out to be pitcher Scott Downs. Downs never pitches for the Twins as in May of 1999 he is traded back to the Chicago Cubs. Morgan pitched for 12 different ML teams (13 if you count that he was traded to the Cubs twice) between 1978 and 2002 before he finally calls it quits.
1978 – Major League umpires stage a one-day strike in defiance of their union contract. Semipro and amateur umps are pressed into service until a restraining order forces the strikers to return. At Toronto at Exhibition Stadium, the Blue Jays beat the Twins 7 – 3, with two amateur umpires and two coaches officiating: Toronto coach Don Leppert was at second base and Twins coach Jerry Zimmerman was at third base for one inning. The coaches returned to their respective benches when a third amateur umpire arrived in the second inning. Since 1910, this was just the 5th time this century, and the first time since 1941, that active players or coaches have umpired.The umpires will walk out again at the beginning of the 1979 season. The Blue Jays scored four times in the first with an Al Woods 3-run homer being the big blow and that would be enough to beat Minnesota 7-3. Twins starter Gary Serum lasted just 2.1 innings giving up 6 runs and took the defeat. Box Score
1976 – The Twins were at Yankee Stadium II and jumped on Yankee starter Ed Figueroa for 4 runs on 4 hits, a walk and 2 errors but the Yanks Graig Nettles got one back on a home run in the bottom of the inning. The Yankees scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning off Twins starter Pete Redfern and the game was tied at four each. The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the 19th inning when Twins reliever Tom Burgmeier who had come on to pitch in the 12th inning walked DH Oscar Gamble who was 0 for 6 at that point. Willie Randolph sacrifice bunted Gamble to second with now one out. Lou Piniella pinch-hit for Jim Mason but popped out to the second baseman for the second out of the inning. Twins menace Mickey Rivers then stepped to the plate and singled (his third of the day) to center off Burgmeier and Gamble scored the winning run. It was the first loss of the season for Burgmeier who had won his 6 previous decisions. After five hours and 26 minutes the New York Yankees had beat the Twins 5-4 in 19 innings. Yankee reliever Dick Tidrow pitches 10 2/3 innings of scoreless relief allowing just four hits and no walks but even that stellar performance does not give him the “W”, Grant Jackson who pitched the final two innings for the New Yorkers got the victory. 24,351 Yankee loyalists were at the game, I wonder how many were loyal to the end. WOW! That is a lot of baseball for your money. Box Score
1972 – No Game Today, Twins versus Detroit Tigers game at Met Stadium rained out and rescheduled as part of a DH on August 27.
1970 – A bomb scare at Met Stadium delayed the Boston Red Sox vs Minnesota Twins game forty-three (43) minutes. According to the Sporting News, a bomb scare forced a 43-minute delay in the fourth inning, but the only bomb that exploded was the homer by Tony Conigliaro off of Tommy Hall in the eighth giving Red Sox 1-0 victory over Twins. A crowd of 17,697 evacuated the stands after announcement over public address system stated that a telephoned warning had been received that bomb was due to go off. The evacuation was orderly and without panic with about 2,000 fans, players, police and vendors gathered in the center-field area. The rest milled about in the parking lot. The bomb was supposed to go off at 10:30 PM so after a 27 minute wait, the game was resumed at 10:57 PM.The Sox end the game with a double play, the first out is a force at second base on a ball hit by Jim Holt and then Tony Oliva is caught in a rundown (6-5-2-5) trying to score from third. Ken Brett is the winner in relief over Tommy Hall. Stew Thornley wrote a nice story on this game for the SABR Game project that you can read here. Box Score
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1967 – The Twins play two at Cleveland Stadium and pick up two “W’s” on the day. When all is said and done, the Twins are in first place but just a half game up. The Twins won the first game in extra innings when Tony Oliva led off the top of the tenth innings with a single, Harmon Killebrew then tripled him home when his only triple of the season and Sandy Valdespino followed with a sac fly to score Killebrew and give the Twins a 6-4 lead. Killebrew had three hits in the game. Ron Kline gave up a home run to Joe Azcue in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-5 but then shut the door and was credited with the win for his four innings of relief. Box Score game one
In game two Dean Chance pitches the second no-hitter in Twins history and defeats the Indians 2-1 in the second game of a double-header at Cleveland Stadium. The Indians actually scored first in this game when Chance walked Lee Maye and Vic Davalillo in the bottom of the first. Chance then struck out Chuck Hinton but Tony Horton reached on an error by shortstop Jackie Hernandez to load the bases. With Max Alvis batting, Chance threw a wild pitch and Maye scored the Indians first and only run. Chance then struck out Alvis and Joe Azcue flew out to end the threat. Chance then completed the game using 95 pitches without allowing an Indian hit while striking out eight and walking a total of five batters. The win for Chance made his record 17-9. The Twins went on to score two runs and win this unusual no-hitter. The Twins scored their first run in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1 on a Tony O single that was followed by a Harmon Killebrew single that allowed Oliva to blow through third base coach Billy Martin’s stop signal. According to the Star Tribune the Twins won the game on an oddity in the sixth inning when the Twins had Cesar Tovar on third and Tony Oliva on first after each had singled. Killebrew worked the count to 3-2 when Indians pitcher Sonny Siebert started his motion but dropped his back foot and was called for a balk by Larry Napp allowing Tovar to score the run and put the Twins out in front 2-1. Box Score game two
Twins’ Dean Chance fires a no-hitter at Cleveland
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1966 – No Game Today
1961 – The visiting Baltimore Orioles and their manager Paul Richards sacrificed four times and used a sacrifice fly to build a 5-0 lead and held on for a 5-2 win behind Jack Fisher’s (7-11) complete game win in which he allowed 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out seven. You sure wouldn’t see this kind of game from the Orioles under Earl Weaver’s 1968-1982 and 1985-1986 regime. Prior to heading for an unplanned early shower Twins starter Jack Kralick (11-9) gave up 10 hits and one walk in his 5.1 innings. Don Lee and Bill Pleis kept the O’s off the board the rest of the way. The Twins scored their two runs on three singles and a sac fly in the sixth inning make it 5-2 but that was a close as they would get. Billy Martin, Bill Tuttle and Joe Altobelli each had two hits accounting for 6 of the teams eight hits. Box Score
